Lisa Yuskavage honed an original style to figure painting. Her style is very bold, eccentric and introspective with the figure being both the subject and object of the piece. A common theme of her works would be that most of them are exhibitionists, as well as being inspired by pop culture and the dichotomy of subjects, this in turn creates her own emotional formalism in her pieces.
In “The Ones That Don’t Want To: Kelly Marie” (1992), Yuskavage was beginning to find her artistic voice and is part of a series that gained very mixed reviews. The scene revolves around trying to make you feel discomfort with sexual themes and innocent and vulnerable expressions.
“Big Blonde with Hairdo” (1994) was a part of her big blonde series of works which played with themes of alluring women as seen with “Penthouse” magazines, as well as that of Neo Pop artist Jeff Koons and Mike Kelly. Yuskavage took the “tasteless” subject and turned it into fine art with the figure somewhat fearful face hiding something beneath the surface.
“Half Family” (2003) changed styles from an interior to landscapes. It includes the theme of “coming of age” and embracing or exploring new found sexuality. However in the background comes a storm representing that of the dangers that is to come.
“Wilderness” (2009) is similar to a surrealist piece with the open landscapes and the intense colour of the sky. The piece shows off Yuskavage’s painting style which is quite mature and worn in. another interesting thing now, is that Yuskavage is now working with her own plaster sculptures rather than models.
One of the pieces that draws me the most is “Hippies in Tit Heaven” (2015) as I enjoy the moody vibe it gives off. It feels isolated and yet never lonely. The dark expressions of the figures behind the highlighted one feels creepy and very burdened.
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